The best group blog Algonquin College social media students have ever written

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I have been working in the wedding industry for less than a year. But have had the privilege of being a part of 4 styled shoots. One of which I personally planned, and the other three I have worked on with my team. All with different styles. The first one was a colourful boho shoot with an airstream. Then we did a promo shoot for Tie the Knot Wedding Show with an old VW van. The one I planned was a rustic meets elegant woodland shoot. Then this past weekend in the crazy storm we had here in Ottawa we toughed out the weather for another bohemian shoot “Canadian” style.

Though the finished product of the shoots is amazing, and they are so fun to be a part of, plan and style. But the things you have to do to make the shoot happen is crazy.

I have trucked a vintage chair through a field of ticks, knelt under a table to hold a table cloth in the wind for a pretty good chunk of time. Ducked, dodged and ran in and out of a shot to fix the dress. The day before the first snow here in Ottawa, we did a crazy detailed shoot in the freezing cold. I knelt behind a couch to hold a frame in the freezing cold. And lastly in the crazy snow storm we all trucked out to the country. But all of these shoots (especially the one in the snow storm) are epic!

You plan for months, stress, people cancel, change plans, get dates wrong, freeze your butt off, truck things through fields, almost ruin wedding dresses, last minute styling, taking a bunch of pictures then realize a blue camera case is in the background the whole time, driving all over town the morning of to pick up flowers and jewelry and so much more.

But all the stress and the craziness, and miserable heavy lifting turn into something way better then you can ever imagine, every time.

Facebook:

Ever thought look at a photo shoot and think: It would be so glamorous to have that persons job, it looks so fun. Well here’s a snippet into the behind the scenes of a styled shoot and all the gruelling work that goes into it.

Twitter:

Think a wedding planners job is fun and glamorous. Find out the truth behind a styled shoot, and what it really takes.

Last post about my new lifestyle as a minimalist, this week’s lesson about personal branding, and a conversation I had with my boyfriend recently really got me think about who the heck am I?! This being my fourth course in school, having a resume longer than anyone wants to read, and many hobbies that I have tried to turn into something more than a hobby. I can’t ever seem to settle on something.

As a 23 year old, people say there is lots of time to figure out “what you want to be when you grow up.” And sure I agree, but I can never see myself settling into just one thing. I currently have 3 jobs, and have recently been to a few interviews and applied to 3 more. I am a strong believer of working at a job you love. And for me a 9-5 job where you do the same thing every day really doesn’t satisfy me. But am I really going to be working 5 jobs at once my whole life…? I don’t think so, especially one day when I decide it is time to pop out some kids. My current lifestyle would never fit into a schedule with kids. But how do you know what you really want to do?

It’s true what ‘they’ say about your life changing drastically in a year. A year ago I just started school again for the third time, convinced I would never go back after I finished. I had no clue where I would be once that program ended.

Even from a week ago when I started writing this post, to right now life has changed. I had an interview today for a regular Monday to Friday job!

The main point of this post is.. it’s tough being in your 20’s trying to figure out what you are going to do for the rest of your life. It’s hard enough to please yourself, but if you’re like me you have family and friends on your back about it too. By this time next year who knows what kind of job I’ll have, or what I’ll be doing (Let alone next week!) Seriously. It’s tough growing up, but as long as you are satisfying that little fire inside of you, and being able to support your basic needs. I guess you’re not doing too bad. Just sit back and enjoy the adventure!?

Facebook:

When you aren’t too sure about where your life is headed, don’t worry, you’re not the only one! Here’s a window into my crazy ever changing life. http://bit.ly/2kHbkUe

Twitter:

Figuring out your life as a ‘grown up’ is hard. But you’re not alone. I’m right there with ya, enjoy the adventure with me! http://bit.ly/2kHbkUe

Here’s a quick background on me (or at least the important things you should know to follow along with the rest of this post)

-I have way more clothes than one individual actually needs. I can’t even give you a point of reference it’s so much!
-I love home décor
-I am crafty
-I enjoy expressing my creativity through my clothes and my home décor/DIYing

Now that you know pretty well everything about me. Let me get into it.

Should I buy my 300th shirt or what?

I recently watched a documentary: Minimalism. I had heard of minimalism, mostly through the concept of tiny houses. I liked the idea of downsizing your life and living simply. But I always lead myself to believe that I couldn’t do it. I love my stuff way too much!

Through watching this documentary and going through the website of the two guys who created it (Joshua & Ryan) I really learned a lot.

The biggest takeaway was this:

Minimalism doesn’t mean you are only allowed to own 100 items, and you aren’t allowed to take joy in buying new things. It doesn’t mean you have to get rid of everything you own RIGHT NOW!

Joshua and Ryan put it quite nicely:

“Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom.”

The biggest thing in our current culture is that people put too much meaning on ‘stuff.’ Especially because there are always bigger and better things becoming available on the daily. Our culture has set us up to be people who always need more stuff! Don’t get me wrong, I am a HUGE culprit of buying new things. Especially when it comes to clothes, home décor, and craft supplies. Buying new things is like a drug. You spend your money, buy something new, and everything feels better. You wear that new shirt once or twice, and you’re really excited to show off your new threads… but then the drug wears off and you need to buy something else. You also feel an abundance of guilt for spending money that you don’t really have because you still have yet to pay off your student loans, or that car you decided to buy. (I swear I’m not bitter).

After watching this documentary, I decided I wanted to start living a life style where my stuff means less. The biggest thing to remember about minimalism is that when things are important to you, don’t get rid of them. But if they really have no deep meaning to you, throw ‘er away! On Monday of this week I took a step into the world of minimalism. My closets (yes, I mean that in a plural form) full of clothes, were down sized. I got rid of 204L of clothes. Now I didn’t completely get rid of them, because I wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. But I figured I’d put my clothes into some bins, put them in my closet and see how I survive off the leftovers.

It’s been 5 days, and to be honest I don’t even remember what clothes I put into these bins. I have opened them once because I needed a pair of shorts to wear to a new intramural team I joined. Other than that, I’d say I won’t need much else from those bins. I would love to eventually downsize my wardrobe a little more, but I am going to be taking baby steps on this one.

My next goal is to go through all my shelves and drawers of junk and get rid of everything I don’t need, that dust collector stuff!

Things like home décor and craft supplies, are two things that are the most important to me. Those will be my biggest exceptions to my minimalism lifestyle. Or the direction I am headed anyway.

I want to challenge you to think of things in your home that have no importance, or that have no meaning to you. Get rid of them, or put them in a box in the back of your closet, and see how you feel after a few weeks. For me, I already feel a weight lifted when I walk into my room and stare at my minimized closet. No longer is there an avalanche of clothes that come out at me when I go to get dressed every morning. I have also not spent money all week, which feels great on my bank account!